The founders of "Skype" have for a while now been working on a new piece of software dubbed "The Venice Project" which happens to be based around an online TV service! It's obviously been working out well for them as they've just released their first beta software build for it, officially named "Joost".

For the full rundown on the new service, check out this article over at Digital Trends folks.

Just last month, Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom revealed they were working on an Internet-based broadband television service dubbed "The Venice Project." The idea is to provide high-quality television programming via the Internet, and have the whole thing be supported by advertising-and this be free to users. The global platform would support copyright protection for content owners, while integrating "Web 2.0" technologies like tagging and community-driven interactivity.

Although still in a private beta testing phase, today the company formally dropped the "Venice Project" monicker in favor of Joost. "People are looking for increased choice and flexibility in their TV experience, while the entertainment industry needs to retain control over their content," said Fredrik de Wahl, Joost CEO. "With Joost, we've married that consumer desire with the industry's interests." The Joost site currently offers a blog and some screenshots-and invites interested users to sign up to beta test the service. Joost claims to offer instant channel switching and full-screen display in addition to interactive features.